Chili Bowl title goes to Kevin Swindell for unprecidented fourth consecutive year

The official name of the event is the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals, but there's a good reason to change that to the Kevin Swindell Charity race.

Until Swindell won in 2010 and 2011, no driver had even won the prestigious indoor midget race two years in a row. Then Swindell won again in 2012, and Saturday night at the Tulsa Expo Raceway, he won again for his fourth straight Chili Bowl victory, over a field of about 275 cars that began qualifying down to the top 24 last Tuesday on the quarter-mile oval. All 10,000 seats were filled for the finale, with thousands more watching the race on big-screen TVs outside the arena.

Swindell's main challenge came from his father, Sammy, who finished second. Third was Brad Sweet, followed by 2006 winner Tim McCreadie, and veteran Dave Darland. NASCAR driver and two-time winner Tony Stewart started mid-pack but was involved in two incidents, and finished the 55-lap race one lap down in 15th. Fellow NASCAR drivers Kasey Kahne and Justin Allgaier did not qualify for the A-main.

The only car that appeared to have a legitimate shot at unseating the Swindells was the No. 71 of Kyle Larson, who battled side-by-side with Kevin Swindell early in the race, actually leading laps 13 through 17 before spinning out on his own. Larson later retired.

“Kyle and I are good friends,” Kevin said, “and we've raced against each other a lot, but I don't think we've run side by side like that before. It was fun, and I wish we could have raced like that all the way to the finish.” Kevin said he felt his right rear tire softening up halfway through the race, and in the end, the tread was gone, and cord was showing all the way across the tire.

With Kevin's win, he and his father have taken nine of the 27 Chili Bowl events. Damion Gardner, who won in 2008, was the last non-Swindell to take the event. Gardner finished this event in 18th.

Even with his dominance at the event, Kevin Swindell has few firm plans for the rest of the season. “Hopefully,” he told Autoweek, “somebody will ask me to drive their midget in a few races.”